Saturday, January 26, 2013

And I am reading Coop Clan Term 1 by Kerine Miller. Over
Christmas and January (my birthday month) I treat myself to books and more
books. Even when they are expensive, I keep saying, "You are worth it.” It’s my
book time, even more than the rest of the year, which is always book time. One of
the books I bought was Coop Clan Term 1. And yes, I’m just reading it, but some
books I keep and savour the thought of reading them, so I live in constant
happy expectation. And I am enjoying this book. The blurb states:

Five different girls from different backgrounds enter seventh
grade and find the one thing that may help them survive High School – each other!
They form the “Coop Clan” and together experience the rigors and high points of
high school in Jamaica. In only their first term at St. Viola’s, the “Coop Clan”
play mischievous pranks in class, go on an adventure–filled field trip, take on
the class bullies, participate inthe
school’s carol service, and generally get into lots of mischief. Though each
girl has her own personal struggles, they persevere and learn that though life
(and high school) has its ups and downs, few things can compare with the power
of true friendship.

This book seems to be self published as I do not see a publisher
indicated. The book was launched at Bookophilia (a launch which I was sorry I missed).
I love the cover design; I love how the girls are real to me ( I keep looking
at the cover to see if I’m sure which girl is which, to sort of imprint them on
my brain and get to know them better – a book-liking behavior of mine). I like how
their conversation flows; I love how their lives are ours but also like other
children in other countries who may be just entering high school. This is one
of the things which I always want from our writing for our children, the fact
that we are the same as other people but different/unique, just as each country is
from the other. This is to be a series, an excellent marketing strategy, but I
suspect also that the author has decided that there will be so many other
stories to tell about these girls, that she’ll need more than one book. I know that
I’ve not finished reading it, but I wanted to bring it to your attention now. A
good combination; a young writer, writing for the high school group, where we need more contemporary books about us, our children’s present day concerns;
and a series. I wish this young writer every success.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Joanne C. Hillhouse, noted Antiguan writer, asked me to
contribute one or two of my books to the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize. The
guidelines for the 2013 competition state: Our goal is to encourage the
literary arts and to create as many avenues as possible for showcasing some of
the best young writing coming out of Antigua and Barbuda.Joanne C. Hillhouse, the founder and coordinator
of the Wadadli Youth Pen Prize, started this competition in
2003. The website indicates that originally it was for young people 18 and
under, with special prizes for those under 12. The competition is now open to
those under 35. Successful competitors may have their work published on the
website or there may be audio and live recordings. Workshops have also been
held.

I have had occasion to see work from this group, some from
young people under 15, and was very impressed, and so was very pleased to be
able to contribute in a way that I could. No, it may not seem to be about
children’s literature ( this is a children’s literature blog, after all), but
it is about young people writing, and this could be one more way of producing a
greater belief in ourselves as writers of fiction for children.

I applaud this initiative by Joanne and the sponsors who have helped to keep this going, and wonder how many more such
initiatives exist in the Caribbean. I had mentioned a previous initiative where
the Bocas Lit Fest , Trinidad and
Tobago, had produced a publication of writing by young people and children. (See
my post June 30, 2012: Stories written by children for children).

There are now
many literary festivals in the Caribbean and this is very inspiring. They often
havea children’s section, which as far
as I know, tends to be about reading/telling stories to children, etc, rather than the actual celebrating of the
writers of children’s literature, especially if these should actually be the
young people themselves.This would be
an important development. Therefore if you know of anymore initiatives like these, please share it
with me so that I can in turn share it with my associates/readers. Can you
imagine across the Caribbean celebrating literature written by the young for
the young. What a something!

Total Pageviews

About Me

I'm author of children's stories and editor of textbooks. My stories have been published in the UK, the USA and Jamaica. I have won a number of awards, including a Bronze Musgrave Medal from the Institute of Jamaica (2004) and the special prize for the best children's story by the Commonwealth Foundation (2011). I have prsented papers on children's literature both in Jamaica and overseas, and have run writing workshops both in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean.